The Russian aerospace forces and the air forces of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army held a 13-hour flight as part of an air group over the Sea of Japan and East China Sea, the ministry said in a statement.
Khushi Shah – Mumbai Uncensored, 26th May 2022
Chinese and Russian fighter jets carried out joint flights near Japan on Tuesday on May 24, 2022. The leaders of the Quad bloc the United States, Japan, India and Australia met in Tokyo. Besides US’ efforts to counter China’s reach and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific. North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and the war in Ukraine was also among the issues on the table.
China’s military said on Wednesday that joint aerial excersises with Russia over the Sea of Japan, East China Sea and Western Pacific were not directed at any country and was part of an annual military exercise.
Nobuo Kishi, Japanese minister said that two Chinese bombers joined two Russian bombers in the Sea of Japan and made a joint flight to the East China Sea. The government had expressed “grave concerns” to Russia and China over the flights, which took place while leaders from the quad held talks on regional security. “After that, a total of four aircraft, two presumed (new) Chinese bombers — which replaced the two Chinese bombers — and two Russian bombers, conducted a joint flight from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean.”
China claims almost all of the vast South China Sea as its sovereign territory. It has been building up and militarizing its facilities there, turning islands into military bases.It is the fourth time since November that long-distance joint flights by Russia and China have been spotted near Japan. The exercises near Japanese and South Korea air defence zones took place as US President Joe Biden wrapped up a trip to Asia, where he angered China by saying he would be’willing to respond militarily’ to defend Taiwan if it came under Chinese attack.
Biden hammered that message home after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in which the pair agreed to monitor Chinese naval activity and joint Chinese-Russia exercises. “We agreed with the One China policy, we signed on to it… but the idea that it can be taken by force is just not appropriate, it would dislocate the entire region and would be another action similar to Ukraine,” Biden said.
In the East China Sea, China claims sovereignty over the Japanese controlled Senkaku Islands, also known as the Diaoyu Islands. In recent years, the US has reiterated its promise to defend the islands in the event of foreign aggression. The Quad leaders on Tuesday warned against attempts to “change the status quo by force”, although they avoided direct references to Russia or China in a joint statement.
“As the international community responds to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the fact that China took such action in collaboration with Russia, which is the aggressor, is cause for concern. It cannot be overlooked.”
